Running from Monday
Page 34
Acknowledgments
This book has been a long time in coming. I once heard a pastor say that God will not entrust you with a vision of your own until you’ve served another man’s vision well. God’s timing being as unfailingly perfect as it is, he ordained long seasons of working and serving the visions of others before it became my turn to tell a story. And in truth, without those seasons, I wouldn’t have had a story to tell. And I would have far fewer acknowledgements to extend here because the greatest thing that God has deposited into my life in the space of those years is relationships.
To my pastors, Stovall and Kerri Weems, thank you for building the House that built me. Everything I am as a transformed believer I owe to your relentless passion for God and his Church. Thank you for creating a home where I encountered love without conditions and grace without limits. In the walls of our church, I learned to live God-first and God-full.
To my parents and in-laws, you are truly the “great cloud of witnesses” who surround and watch over my race, those whom I wish to honor most with my life and choices. Thank you for every way that you have given and sacrificed for me and for my family. Thank you for being “eight grands in the stands” for every moment, large and small, in our lives. We are your living legacy.
To my Sisterhood circle—you know who you are. You are my ride-or-die, Gesthemane girls, and this story is our story. We are rescued women and rescuers of women, and I am so grateful to get to do life with you every day. This book would never have been possible without you.
To my financial partners, thank you for believing in me, in the call of God on my life, and in this rather unconventional idea for ministry resourcing. Your generosity is so appreciated, and I am ever prayerful that what you’ve sown, you will reap to overflowing.
To Sherri, Kristin, and Brandi, thank you for pulling close and taking this journey with me from the beginning. Thank you for your keen eyes, timeline tracking skills, and your heart to see this story come to life.
To the amazing Megan “Brug” Burns, thank you is not enough for the creativity you brought to this book. The cover art is dreamy and full of whimsy. It’s a privilege to lend space to your beautiful gifts.
To Peyton, Madison, and Aiden, no book I dream up will ever compare to the trilogy I have in you. You are the best stories I will ever have had a hand in writing. I hope these books inspire you to dream big for your own lives—to let God give flight to your gifts and take them where he’s already made room for them to soar.
And to Grady Vann…baby, you are everything. Drew Hemming doesn’t even come close.
References & Permissions
Moore, Beth, and McCleskey, Dale. Session 2 Video. Breaking Free: The Journey, The Stories, LifeWay Press, 2009.
Macmillian, Mark and MacMillan, Sarah. “King of My Heart.” Copyright © 2015 Meaux Jeaux Music (SESAC) Raucous Ruckus Publishing (SESAC) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Sarah McMillan Designee. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Tomlin, Chris and Giglio, Louie. “My Chains are Gone.” Copyright © 2006 worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) Vamos Publishing (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Johnson, Brian; Case, Joel; Helser, Jonathan David. “No Longer Slaves.” Copyright © 2014 Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP) (adm. at bethelmusicpublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Want to go deeper?
Running from Monday
Exploring Themes Study Guide
ISBN: 9780999794722
An 8-week study guide with daily devotional lessons designed to explore key themes in the Running from Monday fiction book and unlock personal narratives. Includes meaningful questions for small group discussion and insights for small group leaders.
Themes: freedom, redemption, childhood abuse/loss, emotional healing, forgiveness
Coming in Fall 2018
Waiting on Tuesday
Bethany’s Story
Refresh Church Station Series, Book 2
Bethany Foley spends a lot of time waiting—waiting in parking lots for kids, waiting for her husband to change his mind, waiting for her heart to heal, and waiting on God to work a miracle in her marriage. But as painful as faith in impossible seasons can be, Bethany discovers something sacred about silent spaces of trust. She learns that God is in the waiting. With the girding support of some amazing women, an unexpected opportunity to rescue a girl, and divine intervention from an unlikely source, she learns that with God, nothing is broken beyond repair, and it’s never too late for a happy ending.
Themes: infidelity, separation, divorce, shared custody, co-parenting, forgiveness, restoration
Waiting on Tuesday
Exploring Themes Study Guide
An 8-week study guide with daily devotional lessons designed to explore key themes in the Waiting on Tuesday fiction book and unlock personal narratives. Includes meaningful questions for small group discussion and insights for small group leaders.
Visit leasims.org for more information.